Surguja State

Surguja State
सरगुजा रियासत
Princely State of British India
←
1603–1948 →

Flag

Surguja State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Capital Ambikapur
History
 • Established 1603
 • Accession to the Union of India 1948
Area
 • 1901 15,770 km2 (6,089 sq mi)
Population
 • 1901 351,011 
Density 22.3 /km2  (57.6 /sq mi)
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
The last three Asiatic cheetahs recorded from India were shot down in 1947 by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Surguja seen in this photo submitted by his private secretary to JBNHS
Detail of the throne of the Maharaja of Surguja

Surguja State, was one of the main princely states of Central India during the period of the British Raj, even though it was not entitled to any gun salute. Formerly it was placed under the Central India Agency, but in 1905 it was transferred to the Eastern States Agency.

The state spread over a vast mountainous area inhabited by many different people groups such as the Gond, Bhumij, Oraon, Panika, Korwa, Bhuiya, Kharwar, Munda, Chero, Rajwar, Nagesia and Santal.[1] Its former territory lies in the present-day state of Chhattisgarh and its capital was the town of Ambikapur, now the capital of Surguja district.

History

According to tradition the rulers of Surguja are descendants of Raksel Raja of Palamau. The state became a British protectorate in 1818 after the Third Anglo-Maratha War. Neighbouring Udaipur State was founded in 1860 as an offshoot of Surguja State. The State was conferred to younger son of Maharaja Amar Singh Deo to Raja Bindeshwari prasad singh deo. The Chief resided at Partabpur, the headquarters of a tract which he held as a maintenance grant in Surguja, and was a ruler of considerable ability and force of character. In 1871 he aided in the suppression of a rebellion in the Keonjhar State, for which he received the thanks of Government, and gifts of an elephant with gold-embroidered trappings and a gold watch and chain. He obtained the title of Raja Bahadur as a personal distinction, and was also made a Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India. In 1820 hereditary title of Maharaja was conferred on ruling chief of surguja. Surguja was one of the Chota Nagpur States and its rulers were Rajputs of the Raksel dynasty. They were the de facto overlords of the smaller states of Udaipur, Jashpur, Koriya (Korea) and Changbhakar that were fringing its territory.[2]

Raja Indrajit Singh Deo (1827 - 1879) of Surguja was described as a lunatic by Anglo-Indian writer George Robert Aberigh-Mackay in 1877.[3]

Maharaja Ramanuj Saran Singh Deo, the last ruler of this princely state signed the accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948.[4] The Maharaja has the notorious record of having shot and killed a total of 1710 tigers, the highest known individual score;[5][6] he also holds the official record of shooting into extinction the last 3 physically recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India effectively making the species locally extinct in 1947.

Rulers

The rulers of Surguja State bore the title of 'Raja', although a few had the title of 'Maharaja', including the last head of the state.[7]

Rajas

Maharaja

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
  2. ↑ Malleson, G. B.: An historical sketch of the native states of India, London 1875, Reprint Delhi 1984
  3. ↑ G. R. Aberigh-Mackay, The Native Chiefs and Their States in 1877:A Manual of reference.
  4. ↑ Rajput Provinces of India - Surguja (Princely State)
  5. ↑ The scent of shikar
  6. ↑ Tiger Hunting in India 1924
  7. ↑ Princely States of India

Coordinates: 23°12′N 83°2′E / 23.200°N 83.033°E / 23.200; 83.033

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